If you are a member in good standing with The Maple Society, you can sign up for "The Maple Society" usergroup. This gives you access to a private forum where participation is reserved for Maple Society members.

In the pop-up, select "Join User Groups". This will take you to a new page.

On the new page, beside Maple Society, select Join Usergroup. You will get another pop-up that asks you to fill in information.

Fill in your request to join the group with your full name so that it can be cross-referenced against the membership list and click on "Send Request". Only forum moderators and administrators can see this information (and you can remove it after your membership has been confirmed, if you like).

If you haven't been approved after a day or two, post a quick note on the maple open forums that a request was made and it will be handled quickly.

Once you've been approved, a new forum will be available to you: Maple Society (Private), where you can discuss topics of interest to Maple Society members only; this includes things such as The Maple Society symposia and conferences, articles from the Maple Society newsletter and so on.

You will also receive a Maple Society banner below your username and title in all postings.

I think before we can enlist people to join the
Maple Society we may want to tell the viewers
what the benefits are of being a member. As
you know I have asked in the recent past what
those benefits are.

Is the Maple Society open for everyone that
wishes to become a member? A general idea
might be helpful as to who all are members
of the Society and are there current members
reasonably available for online contact?

What periodicals are published by the Society
and how often can we expect to receive them?
Are there back issues available that can be
purchased?

Are there any special projects currently being
worked on such as producing a photo-book
accompaniment for our current books on
Maples? Is there a committee working on the
identification of Maples? Is there a means
through the Society to register a new Maple
cultivar and what are the guidelines in order
to register a Maple.

Is there a current Maple or a seed source
directory?

Are the membership dues concurrent or
retroactive?

In the California Rare Fruit Growers we have
regional meetings, whereby members in close
geographic locales (Chapters) can get together
for a weekend day about once every 2 months
and "shoot the breeze" about our Citrus, Guavas,
Tropical Bananas, Cherimoyas, Jujubes to name
a few of the plants that fellow members grow.
Does the Maple Society have such regional
meetings or similar type "local" get-togethers
scheduled or currently set up at this time?

Just a few, quick questions that may help in
giving some of us a better understanding of
the Maple Society.

Is the Maple Society open for everyone that wishes to become a member? A general idea might be helpful as to who all are members of the Society and are there current members reasonably available for online contact?

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Membership is very roughly 10% nursery professionals, 5% botanic garden types, 5% libraries and the rest admirers/collectors. I believe these numbers are the same for both the North American Branch of the Maple Society (NABMS) and the parent society. A good number of the NABMS members frequent this forum.

What periodicals are published by the Society and how often can we expect to receive them? Are there back issues available that can be purchased?

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The quarterly Maple Society Newsletter is the only periodical published by the society. It is published in the UK and has articles and news written by members both from there and North America. Back issues are available.

Are there any special projects currently being worked on such as producing a photo-book accompaniment for our current books on Maples? Is there a committee working on the identification of Maples? Is there a means through the Society to register a new Maple cultivar and what are the guidelines in order to register a Maple.

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I am unaware of any special projects. Individual institutions with significant maple collections are always interested in identification and will often make extra efforts to provide this service to the public. Acer palmatum cultivars are far too numerous, however, and more the purview of commercial and specialist growers, who may or may not be inclined to provide such a service without some return on their informational investment (most growers I know will provide this service to their regular customers). Westonbirt is poised to become the international cultivar registrar. We are expecting an article on this subject to appear in the Newsletter in the not too distant future.

Is there a current Maple or a seed source directory?

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There is not currently an international Maple Society seed exchange, however, there are certainly enough American enthusiasts for one to start. From my point of view (and a number of others on the NABMS executive who are also botanical garden-employed), the society should not sanction international exchanges that violate plant import/export regulations.

In the California Rare Fruit Growers we have regional meetings, whereby members in close geographic locales (Chapters) can get together for a weekend day about once every 2 months and "shoot the breeze" about our Citrus, Guavas,
Tropical Bananas, Cherimoyas, Jujubes to name a few of the plants that fellow members grow. Does the Maple Society have such regional meetings or similar type "local" get-togethers scheduled or currently set up at this time?

Jim

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The North American Branch of the Maple Society has a yearly meeting somewhere on the continent. Last year it was near Chicago, the year before in California, the year before that in North Carolina. This year, the meeting will be held (along with the International Maple Symposium) in Vancouver, BC. We are a young society and regional chapters have not yet emerged, but I'm sure that will happen eventually.

The procedure to get access to the private forum was changed a little last year. Now when you ask to join, you will be asked to provide a pass word to the admin. The pass word is located on page 2 current newsletters. So once you receive your first newsletter, you should be good to go to join the private forum.